Wednesday, 9 May 2012

Let me introduce to Rory Lion and his friends! They love to have fun adventures together and are inseparable, which is why I have included the step by step instructions to make all four members of the gang in my latest pattern release at Get Smitten!

Rory is quite bossy; the leader of the gang. He is caring, loyal and loves to dance and sing. He goes out of his way to be centre of attention and his favourite crisps (that's potato chips to my American friends) are Cheese and Onion flavour

Barney Lamb is happy-go-lucky and follows Rory wherever he goes. He is very good at Maths and jumping and he loves remote controlled cars. One day he would like to visit New Zealand

Squealia Piglet is very excitable and has to fight the urge to squeal nearly all the time. She loves arts & crafts and sometimes gets in a right mess with all her paints & crayons. Her favourite colour is pink and she has a very curly, spiral crocheted tail!

Miss Bunnie-Penny is quite timid but very, very caring. She is helpful & kind and is always available for cuddles. You can tell her all your worries & she will make you feel better just by being there. She dreams of having her own chat show like Oprah & she loves lollipops. She has the most beautiful tail you ever saw on a rabbit

I had great fun designing these guys - I wanted to capture the carefree innocence of childhood friendships and have their expressions reflect this. I love the naivety of their faces, both in terms of expression and in construction - the large eyes appeal to younger kids and the long gangley limbs give little hands something to hold on to. I kept the shape simple so that sewists of all ages and experience could make them and the pattern can be made by hand or machine, as there are no difficult sections to trip you up. The character of the animals is added with crochet details and the pattern contains full step by step instructions on how to make these defining elements

I also wanted to give Rory and his buddies a kitschy, retro vibe - like the kind of toys I remember seeing in my Mum's crafting books of the 70s. I have used a selection of mismatched vintage fabrics with bold floral patterns to help achieve this look. If you want to do the same, you'll find a great selection of vintage fabric fat quarters here

I recommend adding a little bit of lavender to the body just before you stuff it so that the toy has a calming and relaxing affect on children at bedtime - the scent is released as you give your cute, new friend a good night hug!